The views are majestic, the food is sumptuous and the weather has held— sounds like the makings of a great trip. As any seasoned traveler will tell you, views, food, weather, are all important factors, but it is the Tour Leader and Guide that make or break the trip. In destinations such as Tibet, India or Nepal the role of the Tour Leader is particularly crucial. The presence of an experienced Tour Leader, with sound knowledge of the local system, the language and the people, serves to surmount any unpredictable situation - thus making the journey smooth and trouble-free.

We have developed a team of well-educated, knowledgeable and sensitive individuals, who, as leaders, have traveled extensively all over South Asia (and the world, for that matter). Their versatility enables them to lead groups or individual travelers both in the mountains as well as in any cultural destination. As well as English, our leaders often speak at least two Asian languages with a fluency that leaves little to be desired. Most of our leaders are experienced mountaineers, who have come to the job through their love for mountains and the outdoors. Over the years they have led cultural tours, trekking trips, mountaineering expeditions, rafting trips, wildlife safaris, desert camel and jeep safaris. Each of our leaders has a minimum of ten years outdoor travel experience and is obligated to undergo an annual leadership refresher course, as well as maintain their Wilderness First Responder certification.

Be it the Himalayan mountains, the Tibetan plateau, grasslands of Mongolia, or the Taj Mahal, these highly capable and communicative individuals show their travelers an Asia that is only possible through the eyes of a native.

Sanjay Saxena
US Operations Manager & Trip Leader

Sanjay Saxena was born in New Delhi, India. The son of a Brigadier General in the Indian Army, Sanjay has lived all over India and traveled extensively across Asia. He began mountaineering and rock climbing in the high Himalaya at age fifteen, after successfully completing mountaineering courses from the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering, India.

A professional guide since 1979, Sanjay has led countless groups trekking, climbing, touring and safaris to Tibet, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and throughout India. In January of 1992, David Breashears and Sanjay co-led the first western descent of the Brahmaputra river in India. The 250-mile white water rafting trip was filmed for the BBC series “Classic Adventures,” and was shown in North America by Arts & Entertainment. In 2001 he led the first western group to journey overland from Kunming to Lhasa along the “southern road.”

Sanjay's deep, insider's knowledge of his homeland together with his talent for creating unique itineraries to traditional and remote destinations, make him one of the travel world's top-ranking India and Tibet specialists.  For six consecutive years (2003 – 2008), he has received Conde Nast's "Top Travel Specialist" award for his exemplary work in India, Tibet, Nepal, Mongolia and Sri Lanka.

David Breashears
Director & Expedition Leader

David is a world-class filmmaker, adventurer, and mountaineer whose work has taken him to remote locations throughout Tibet, China, Nepal, India, Pakistan, South America, and East Africa. He has worked on such feature films as Seven Years in Tibet and Cliffhanger, as well as the award-winning documentary Red Flag over Tibet.  In 1983 he transmitted the first live pictures from the summit of Mount Everest and in 1985 became the first American to twice reach its summit.  He is the recipient of four Emmy awards for achievement in cinematography. In 1996 he co-directed, photographed, and co-produced the acclaimed IMAX film Everest and contributed his still photos to the best selling book Everest: Mountain Without Mercy.  He is the author of several books, including an autobiography, High Exposure:  An Enduring Passion for Everest and Unforgiving Places. 

David's latest documentary film "Storm over Everest" was released (broadcast) by PBS in May 2008. With beautiful photography on the mountain, interspersed with interviews of survivors of the three climbing teams that were caught in the epic Himalayan storm that hit Everest in 1996, this is an excellent depiction of what happened that fateful day.  During the filming of the documentary in 2006, David summited Everest once again, his 5th summit of Everest. He continues to actively pursue Himalayan climbing, lecturing around the world and working on new film projects.  For more about the film and David please visit his website.

In his capacity as Director of Destination Himalaya, David Breashears is going to lend his vast experience to designing innovative new trips to the Himalaya. He will also be personally accompanying some of the tours & trek to Everest.

John Harper
Director Asia Operations & Trip Leader

John’s intense interest in travel started in childhood when his parents presented him with a now very well worn (but much loved) World Atlas.  John has lived all over the west coast of the U.S., and now calls the San Francisco Bay Area home.  While earning his B.A. degree in British History, he spent a considerable amount of time in the U.K.  More importantly, it was this interest in British History that inspired him to begin studying and exploring Asian history and culture, and fired a deep desire to travel to Asia.  Since his first magical visit to that extraordinary continent, he has not looked back.

When not traveling in Asia, John can be found working diligently in DH’s U.S. office.  John is currently completing his Ph.D. dissertation in Comparative Religion (with a focus on South/Southeast Asia) at the Claremont College in Los Angeles, while also continuing his studies of the Hindi, Mandarin and Tibetan languages.  John is a keen student of the arts, history and religions of South and Southeast Asia, and combines these varied interests in his capacities as Tour Leader. 

John also leads our popular Essential series to Tibet and India.

Chungdar
Tibet Operations Manager & Trip Leader

Born in Central Tibet, our man in Tibet is the quintessential diplomat with the enormous touring experience that one requires to ensure sound operations in this region. 

Chungdar's experience and diplomacy in meeting with senior Chinese officials, paired with his finesse for expeditiously securing those hard to obtain travel permits required for remote areas of Tibet, and his capable management of the complex day-to-day logistics of tour operations in the field, are second to none.

Chungdar studied in Lhasa and Nanjing and has been involved in the tourism business since the Chinese Government opened Tibet for tourism (1982).

Manoj Sharma
Trek & Tour Leader

Manoj fell in love with the mountains when he was a teenager. During his years at school, and later at college, he became an active member of their trekking clubs, organizing and leading many of the outdoor programs. In his own words, "I have been vagabonding in the mountains since my early teens because I love them, rather than because my career demands it."

Since those early years, Manoj, in his career as a tour and trek leader, has led American, Australian, British, French, German, Spanish, and Swiss trekking and touring groups to more than 300 destinations throughout India, Tibet, Nepal, and Bhutan. His warm personality, enthusiasm, and professionalism make him one of our most popular leaders. Manoj has traveled in Europe and, for a time, lived in San Carlos, California, while marketing travel programs for his company. Commenting on his life in California, "Living in San Carlos enabled me to become culturally attuned to both western and eastern concepts."

Our Star leader, Manoj lead treks and cultural tours to every region of India, as well as the neighboring countries of Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet.

Ashok Jain
Tour Leader

Ashok is one of our most experienced of South Asia Leaders. Born in Holland, traveling with his diplomat parents, Ashok grew-up in different parts of the world.  This culturally rich upbringing instilled an appreciation and understanding of different people and diverse cultures, which he skillfully brings to the groups he leads.

Ashok graduated from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, with a degree in engineering and worked as an engineer before his true calling surfaced.  To satisfy his passion for travel, in 1988, Ashok started moving from a career in engineering into the tourism industry.  His love of exploring the culture and history of many countries of Asia manifested itself in the excellent tour leader that he became.  Ashok has led countless groups and private tours throughout India and the neighboring countries of Bhutan and Tibet.

Ashok is fluent in English, Spanish, Hindi/Urdu, Bengali and Punjabi. He lead our cultural tours to North India (Rajasthan & Ladakh), Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet.

William Neill
Director of Photo Cultural Tours

William Neill, a long-time resident of Yosemite National Park, is a landscape photographer concerned with conveying the deep, spiritual beauty he sees and feels in nature. From his extensive travels to India, Tibet and the Himalayas, he developed a body of images that includes portraits, architecture and religious sites. Bill's award-winning photographs have been widely published in books, magazines, calendars, posters. Galleries and museums across the nation exhibit his limited-edition prints, including the Boston Museum of Fine Art and The Polaroid Collection. In 1995, the Sierra Club honored Bill with the Ansel Adams Award for conservation photography. To see a sample of Bill's images, please visit his website.

Bill is working closely with Destination Himalaya to design and develop its portfolio of Photo Cultural Tours.

Jeff Davis
Leader, Photo Cultural Tours

Jeff is a documentary photographer, filmmaker, and advocate. He has traveled in over forty countries, with recent photographic and teaching assignments in India, Alaska, Japan, China, and Guatemala. He served on the faculty for the QE2 Ocean Liner and continues to teach digital work flow and travel photography at Apple Computer's flagship store in San Francisco and other venues. Jeff's photography is presented in calendars, web sites, publications, and leading museums and galleries. San Francisco International Airport Museum, San Francisco City Hall, Oakland City Hall, Stanford University, Telluride Mountain Film Festival, Banff Mountain Centre, and The Moat Gallery in Vancouver, Canada recently exhibited his work. Click here to see a sample of Jeff's work featured on our website. To see more of Jeff's work, please visit his website.

Jeff will be the photography expert on our Photo Cultural Tours to Bhutan (April 2008) and Tibet (August 2008).

David Mention
Climbing Instructor and Trek Leader

Dave Mention was born and raised in Oregon. He started climbing in the Cascades at the young age of thirteen and was part of the Mountain Rescue Operations in the Cascades for over ten years. Since then, Dave has been a Rock and Ice Instructor, X-Country Ski instructor for Northwest Outward Bound, the University of Oregon, and the University of New Hampshire. He has a degree in Philosophy from the University of New Hampshire.

Dave has led four climbing expeditions to Denali (Mt. Mckinley) in Alaska and the Yukon mountains in British Columbia. Some of his notable ascents are: a new route on Mt. Waddington in British Columbia, and an alpine ascent of Denali via the difficult Cassin Ridge. He was also the leader of the American Karakoram Expedition to Gasherbrum II in Pakistan. Dave has traveled in India and leads our trekking trips in Ladakh, Bhutan, and to Kanchenjunga in Sikkim.

Shalmali Rao
Trek & Tour Leader

Daughter of a civil servant, Shalmali Rao was born in Darjeeling, and spent most of her formative years in the eastern and western Himalaya – much of it in the wilderness with her family of passionate wildlife-lovers and conservationists.

The love of the Himalaya took her back to Darjeeling and the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, and she completed three courses in mountaineering, as well as in skiing and search-and-rescue. She is a certified mountaineering instructor, and has climbed extensively in Sikkim, Ladakh, Himachal and Uttarakhand, climbing various peaks. She has traveled, trekked and cycled in many parts of India, Bhutan and Myanmar, guiding outdoor as well as cultural groups from Canada, the US, Europe – among others. . She has worked as a volunteer in environmental NGOs such as Wildlife Trust of India (in their campaign against the shahtoosh trade) and Centre for Science and Environment (in their campaign against air pollution).

Shalmali has been featured in several publications, including India Today and Educare – a career journal. She has written reviews and articles for travel and other websites.

Shalmali resides in Delhi and leads our treks to Ladakh, Sikkim and cultural tours to other regions of India.

Nima Namgyal
Tour & Trek Leader

Our top Tibetan guide, Nima graduated from the Sichuan Tourism Institute in 1980 and joined the hotel segment of the tourism industry. After a seven-year stint as a hotelier, Nima moved to trip leading and was the choice of guide for National Geographic Expeditions on their five expeditions tracing the Brahmaputra’s “hidden gorge.” Nima has led numerous mountaineering expeditions, treks and cultural tours all over Tibet.  Nima leads our cultural and trekking tours in Tibet.

Ritu Sharma
Tour Leader

The daughter of a Indian Naval Commodore, Ritu grew up in a very progressive Indian household. Traveling with her parents as her father was stationed in various parts of India and Asia, Ritu developed a love for travel early in life. Studying at a boarding school in the town of Pune as a young girl, she became interested in foreign languages and took the step to study Spanish. This led to her enrolling at Delhi’s prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University, where she earned a Masters Degree in Spanish Language and Literature. Her dissertation, focusing on the famous Spanish playwright Federico Garcia Lorca, earned her a scholarship to travel to Spain to continue her studies.

Throughout the course of her studies, Ritu continued to pursue her passion for travel, which eventually led to her thriving career as a Tour Manager. With her fluent knowledge of Spanish and English, in addition to her native language, as well as her deep passion for India, Ritu has been a extremely successful and popular leader, escorting American, British and Spanish travelers throughout India. Her deep commitment to her chosen profession and the love she has for India is communicated to travelers as she seeks to make India come alive for those who travel with her.

Ritu resides in Delhi and leads our Tours throughout India.

Amy Head
Tour & Trek Leader

Amy’s knowledge of the Tibetan language and understanding of its culture makes her the consummate guide for travel to this part of the world. Having lived in the Himalayas on and off for the past ten years, Amy has built excellent relationships with locals throughout the region and is poised to facilitate an unprecedented journey into the heart of this region.  Along with trekking and touring the wilds of Tibet and India, Amy also found time to work in Dharamsala with various agencies of the Tibetan Government, as a well as, two organizations in the U.S: Healing the Divide Foundation and International Tibet Support Group.

Amy has managed complicated itineraries, stretching from Alaska to Asia, and has led numerous trips throughout the Himalaya.  Her intimate knowledge of the people and landscape of the Himalayan region allows her travelers a safe and comfortable experience in both the urban centers, as well as the profoundly beautiful wilderness of the mountains.

She leads our Essential Tibet series.

Tsering Dundrub
Tour & Trek Leader

Tsering was born into a farming family in Amdo, Eastern Tibet (this eastern province of Tibet was also the birth place of His Holiness the Dalai lama.)  

After completing his primary and secondary education in a local school, Tsering went to India to pursue his higher education.  There, he studied English, and graduated in Buddhism and Tibetan Literature from the Tibetan University, Varanasi.  

In 1993, Tsering returned to his homeland and joined a travel company in Lhasa as a tour guide.  Since then, he has led numerous treks and cultural tours all over Tibet and specializes in overland tours through the provinces of Amdo and Kham.

Abhijat Sharma
Tour & Trek Leader

The son of a senior Indian railway official, Abhijat has been traveling the Indian subcontinent extensively throughout this life. Born in the iconic hill station of Darjeeling in northeast India, he has long had a special fondness for India’s dramatic landscapes, which serves him well in his capacity as Tour Manager.

Abhijat has a Post-Graduate Degree in Business Administration and is a prolific student of the culture and history of India, with a special focus on Northern & Western India. His intrinsic understanding and unique insight into the social and cultural fabric, as well as the “living cultures” of rural India, continue to serve him well and have established him as one of our most popular Tour Managers. While Abhijat has spent ten years pursuing his career as Tour Manager, his thirst for knowledge drives him to keep abreast of current Indian social trends, and he continually strives to bring new and exciting information to travelers.

Abhijat currently resides in Delhi and leads our Treks and Tours throughout India.

Sonam  Badol
Tour & Trek Leader

One of our most experienced Tibetan leaders, Sonam completed his primary and secondary education in a local school (Lhasa) before heading off to India in order to pursue higher studies.

After having spent ten years studying in Mussoorie, India, he returned to Tibet in 1996 and started work in the tourism industry.  Sonam worked for two major Tibetan travel companies (TIST & CITS), and a NGO (One Heart) in Lhasa before joining Destination Himalaya’s Lhasa office in 2005. 

Sonam speaks Hindi, Tibetan, Mandarin and English, and has led numerous tours and treks all over Tibet, including two treks around Mt. Kailash.

Sanjay Chatterji
Tour Leader

The linguist of our group of South Asian leaders, Sanjay graduated from Delhi University with a Bachelors degree in economics, followed by a Masters in Japanese language. He has traveled extensively through Europe and the Far East.

In 1979 he joined the travel industry as a Tour Escort for Travel Corporation of India. Since then, Sanjay has led numerous American, English, Japanese and Australian groups on treks to Ladakh, Sanskrit, Sikkim, Kumon, Himachal Himal of India, Nepal, Tibet and Bhutan.

Sanjay is fluent in English, Japanese, Hindi, and four other major Indian languages. He leads our cultural tours to Tibet, Bhutan and India.

“Be it known to all that we give utmost importance to the welfare of travelers throughout our realm"
— Emperor Ashoka the Great, 232 B.C.

“Sanjay Saxena’s willingness to work with us and make changes we asked for was above and beyond, as was his availability….This is the best travel agency I have ever worked with and I’ve worked with many!”
- Sandra M, CA

“I felt the highlight of the trip was the opportunity to meet and be guided by professionals on the trip.  Sanjay Saxena is the type of person that I would travel with again and again.”
- Bill B, FL

“Sanjay, we can only say that the Sikkim trek was excellent – thanks to you! Your organization and professional leadership guided us through India with a wealth of knowledge and experience.”
- Caroline H, CO

“Manoj is the man – we could not have asked for anything more form him.  Intelligent, well traveled, educated and made every accommodation possible to make sure that we had an awesome trip.  I have used some of the best travel agents in the world and Manoj stands out as a star among them.”
- Mark L, NY

“Our tour guides in all the cities were better than we ever expected.  All very nice and knowledgeable.  Whomever is responsible for their training should be highly commended.”
- Conrad F, FL

“Thanks so much for your excellent help in making this a wonderful experience for us. The trip was superb….even better than my expectations.”
- Barbara P, CT

“All the drivers on our many trips just did an excellent job.  Were always there in time and always courteous to us.  Not a scratch put on any vehicle and we obviously stayed out of the way of Mr. TATA.”
- Don F, CA

“This was a great trip.  Much of the credit goes to Ashok Jain, who was a wonderful trip leader, very courteous, helpful, knowledgeable.  I can’t say enough good about him.”
- Jeff B, AK

“I want to thank you for all the good work you did in making our trip to India so wonderful.  It really was “the trip of a lifetime.”
- Janet S, CT

"Jeff went way beyond  the itinerary to enhance our photography requests. He helped us with  photography mechanics from basic to sophisticated and we returned with the best pictures we have ever taken on a tour."
- Marlene W, CA

“Thanks again for making our Indian trip one of the best adventure vacations we ever had.  We really had an extraordinary experience.” 
- Carol S, CT

“I cannot imagine anyone better at being a Trip Leader than Shagzil.  It was a real pleasure knowing him.  Don’t lose him.”
- Tony H, CA

"We still talk about how amazing our trip to India was and how accommodating and fabulous you and your staff were."
- Rachel D, NY

“Thank you for an all-around fabulous experience.”
- Ilse W, CA

“We would recommend Destination Himalaya easily!  You are all great!  Loved loved loved our journey to Bhutan, Thailand and Cambodia.  We are very grateful for your help!”
- Michelle G, CA

“I cannot imagine anyone better at being a Trip Leader than Shagzil.  It was a real pleasure knowing him.  Don’t lose him.”
- Tony H, CA